Not My Little Sister

Chapter 11: Truth or Dare

She was irresistible, and Nithin felt a desire like never before. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, and gently caressed her cheek with his other hand. His eyes fixated on her lips—those expressive, pink pillows that conveyed a myriad of emotions.

He leaned in, his face mere inches away. Her familiar scent filled his senses, and the temptation to kiss her grew stronger. But he couldn't. She was Mohan's sister.

With a deep breath, he pulled away, his gaze still fixed on her. She had tilted her head back, eyes closed, breathing heavily. He withdrew his hand from around her waist, the tension lingering between them.

"I have no money in my bank," he confessed abruptly, watching her brows furrow in confusion. "I'm living on royalties from an old patent. My company is almost bankrupt," he continued.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze. "Are you trying to revive your company because you want to finish what you started or because you still believe in it?" she asked softly.

He looked at her and answered honestly, "I really believe in it."

"Then why is it not working? What went wrong?" she inquired.

"We did great until the pandemic. Then priorities changed for our customers. Many of them pulled away and we realized our contracts weren't solid. Our legal team wasn't strong. We had no revenue for several months and we still had to pay our employees. We had to scale down, we got rid of our office space and our resources became scarce," he explained. "Other companies have nearly caught up with our technology. If we don't make it work now, we won't have the money to advance further, and all our work will become futile."

"You know, the hospitals here are very much behind in this. We still have to type out or dictate our notes after patient encounters. If we could have a good speech recognition system in place, we could probably utilize our time better and see more patients. Have you considered entering the healthcare space? Or just any niche space rather than trying to expand your services?" Vinaya suggested.

He considered her words. It made sense to find a niche space but they would need to move from collaboration to a full service company. He looked at her in awe. She wasn't just consoling him or listening; she was offering solutions.

He closed his eyes, realizing she was a female version of his best friend, Mohan. Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he felt her small arms encircle him in a hug. He kissed the top of her head.

"You remind me of Mohan," he chuckled.

"That's interesting. So you and my brother cuddle in bed like this?" Vinaya asked, laughing into his shirt.

Nithin laughed, "Yeah, we cuddle and kiss," he joked.

"I'm sure you'd enjoy kissing me more than him..." Vinaya whispered, changing the atmosphere.

Nithin fell silent, his heart racing again. He couldn't fathom why he felt so drawn to her. It wasn't just attraction; it was as though she completed him. But he couldn't pursue this. He couldn't do this. Not to her. Not to Mohan.

"Yaya," he mumbled, "we can't..."

She sat up, distancing herself from him. The way he looked at her went beyond mere lust; there was something deeper in his gaze. But she realized that no matter what he felt, he wasn't willing to cross certain lines.